Toxicity and Mutagenicity of Component Classes of Oils Isolated from Soils at Petroleum- and Creosote-Contaminated Sites

Abstract

Microtox and Ames bioassays were employed to assess acute toxicity and mutagenicity of water soluble components of class–fractionated oils extracted from one creosote–and four petroleum–contaminated soils. Microtox results revealed that potential acute toxicity resides mainly in the polar class fractions at three sites and indicated potential synergistic and antagonistic effects between compounds in the total extracts at two sites. Ames Salmonella/microsome testing indicated that the polyaromatic fractions at two sites exhibit weak mutagenicity with enzymatic activation, while the polar fractions at two sites are weakly mutagenic without enzyme activation. Further chemical characterization of the polar and polyaromatic fractions is required to fully assess the potential of health and ecological risks at the creosote–and petroleum–contaminated sites exhibiting these toxic responses.     

Quantifying structural physical habitat attributes using LIDAR and hyperspectral imagery

Structural physical habitat attributes include indices of stream size, channel gradient, substrate size, habitat complexity, and riparian vegetation cover and structure. The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is designed to assess the status and trends of ecological resources at different scales. High-resolution remote sensing provides unique capabilities in detecting a variety of features and indicators of environmental health and condition. LIDAR is an airborne scanning laser system that provides data on topography, channel dimensions (width, depth), slope, channel complexity (residual pools, volume, morphometric complexity, hydraulic roughness), riparian vegetation (height and density), dimensions of riparian zone, anthropogenic alterations and disturbances, and channel and riparian interaction. Hyperspectral aerial imagery offers the advantage of high spectral and spatial resolution allowing for the detection and identification of riparian vegetation and natural and anthropogenic features at a resolution not possible with satellite imagery. When combined, or fused, these technologies comprise a powerful geospatial data set for assessing and monitoring lentic and lotic environmental characteristics and condition.     

Estimating carbon supply curves from afforestation of agricultural land in the Northeastern U.S.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative for the northeastern states of the U.S. allows for terrestrial carbon (C) sequestration offsets generated by afforestation activities only. This paper estimates the maximum potential quantity and associated costs of increasing the storage of carbon by afforestation of existing agricultural land in the 11 states of the Northeast United States. The focus of the work was to describe location, the quantity, and at what cost it would be economically attractive to shift agricultural production to afforestation to increase carbon storage in the region. Widely available data sets were used to (1) identify spatially-explicit areas for lower costs carbon offsets and (2) estimate carbon supply curves related to afforestation of agricultural land over three time periods (10, 20, and 40 years). Carbon accumulation and total carbon offset project costs were estimated at a county scale and combined to identify expected costs per ton of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO₂e). Large variation in estimated costs per ton of CO₂e are driven by varying carbon accumulation potentials and opportunity costs of taking land out of agricultural production, as well as the duration of the project activity. Results show that the lowest cost carbon offset projects will be in certain counties of Maine, Vermont, and New York. Pasture land, with lower opportunity costs, generally presents the opportunity for lower cost carbon offset projects relative to cropland. This analysis estimates that afforestation of pasture land in the northeast will not become economically attractive until the price rises above 10 per metric tonne (MT) CO < sub > 2 < /sub > e and that up to 583 million MT could be economically sequestered if the price were to rise to10 per metric tonne (MT) CO₂e and that up to 583 million MT could be economically sequestered if the price were to rise to 50 per MT CO₂e, based on a 40-year project life. With regard to cropland in the northeast, afforestation does not become economically advantageous for land owners until the price rises above $40 per MT CO₂e. It is estimated that up to 487,000 MT could be sequestered from cropland if the price were to rise to $40 per MT CO₂e. It is estimated that up to 487,000 MT could be sequestered from cropland if the price were to rise to 50 per MT CO₂e, based on a 40-year project life.     

Mercury levels and health parameters in the threatened Olrog��s Gull (Larus atlanticus) from Argentina

Mercury (Hg) exposure was investigated through feathers of Olrog's Gull and related to health parameters in adults (hematocrit, total plasma proteins, morphometric measures, sex) and chicks (hematocrit, total plasma proteins, immunoglobulins G and M) from a colony located in estuary of Bahía Blanca, Argentina. Mercury concentrations were 5.50 ± 2.59 μg g?1 (n = 44) in live adults, 1.85 ± 0.45 μg g?1 (n = 45) in live chicks and 1.81 ± 0.41 μg g?1 (n = 41) in dead chicks. Large differences were observed between live adults and live or dead chicks and small differences between live and dead chicks. In the adults, the sex of the birds was the variable that best explained Hg concentrations. Male birds had higher concentrations than females; this suggests that the clutch provides a sink for mercury during egg laying. Hg concentrations in both adults and live chicks were associated with higher hematocrits. This could be associated with upregulated erythropoiesis to compensate for increased rate of destruction of prematurely senescent, Hg-contaminated erythrocytes. Based on our results, on the levels of Hg pollution in the past in the study area, and on the dietary specialization of Olrog's Gull, we must be vigilant about potential negative effects of Hg pollution on this population and recommend continued monitoring on this threatened species.     

Temporal and spatial relationships in fine particle strong acidity, sulphate, PM1O, and PM2.5 across multiple canadian locations

The Canadian Acid Aerosol Measurement Program (CAAMP) was established in 1992 to gain a better understanding of the atmospheric behaviour of fine particle strong acidity (“acid aerosols”) and to facilitate an assessment of the potential health risks associated with acid aerosols and particles in general. During 1992. 1993 and 1994, annular denuder and filter measurements were taken at four sites in Ontario, two in Quebec, three in the Atlantic Provinces and one in the greater Vancouver area. Mean fine particle sulphate concentrations (SO₄²⁻) were highest in southern Ontario (annual average ranged from 40–70 nmol m⁻³), lowest at a site in the Vancouver area (average = 16 nmol m⁻³) and second lowest in rural Nova Scotia. However, mean fine particle strong acid concentrations (H⁺) were geographically different. The highest mean concentrations were at the east coast sites (annual average of up to 30 nmol m⁻³). Acidities were lower in areas where the fine particle acidity experienced greater neutralization from reaction with ammonia. This included the major urban centres (i.e. Toronto and Montréal) and areas with greater amounts of agricultural activity, as in rural southern Ontario. On average, ambient concentrations of fine and coarse particle mass were larger in the urban areas and also in areas where SO₄²⁻ levels were higher. All the particle components were episodic. However, compared to SO₄²⁻ and fine particles (PM_2.5 or PM_2.1, depending upon inlet design), episodes of H⁺ tended to be less frequent and of shorter duration, particularly in Ontario. Saint John, New Brunswick, had the highest mean annual H⁺ concentration, which was 30 nmol m⁻³. H⁺ episodes (24 h concentration > 100 nmol m⁻³) were also the most frequent at this location. The high levels in Saint John were partially due to local sulphur dioxide sources and heterogeneous chemistry occurring in fog, which, on average, led to a 50% enhancement in sulphate, relative to upwind conditions.There was a substantial amount of intersite correlation in the day to day variations in H⁺, SO₄²⁻ , PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ (fine + coarse particles) concentrations, which is due to the influence of synoptic-scale meteorology and the relatively long atmospheric lifetime of fine particles. Sulphate was the most regionally homogenous species. Pearson correlation coefficients comparing SO₄²⁻ between sites ranged from 0.6 to 0.9, depending on site separation and lag time. In many cases, particle episodes were observed to move across the entire eastern portion of Canada with about a two-day lag between the SO₄²⁻ levels in southern Ontario and in southern Nova Scotia.     

Per- and polyfluorinated compounds in house dust and indoor air from northern Norway - a pilot study

Polyfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are an extremely versatile class of compounds and are used in a variety of consumer applications and products. Recent studies have suggested that PFCs in indoor air and dust could act as sources of human exposure and outdoor air contamination. This study presents method development and analysis of a wide range of PFCs in dust and air using active sampling techniques with commercially available sampling equipment (forensic nozzles with filter housings for dust collection and polyurethane foam (PUF)-XAD₂-PUF sandwich-tubes for air sampling) using both liquid and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The developed method was validated and tested for applicability to analyze dust and air samples at both low and high concentrations (0.5 ng and 25 ng per analyte per air sample, respectively). Samples from private households and an office building were analyzed to explore differences in distribution patterns and concentrations. Perfluorooctane sulfonate, perfluorodecane sulfonate, perfluoroheptanoate, perfluorooctanoate and perfluorononanoate were observed in all samples of dust from private households, in the range from 1 to 80.1 ng g⁻¹. Fluorotelomer alcohols (FTOHs) were the predominant PFCs in indoor air samples with ∑FTOHs ranging between 4.7 and 17.9 ng m⁻³. The concentrations found in the present study are generally lower than those previously reported. This variation may be due to differences associated with geographical locations and lifestyles. However, use of different sampling techniques and strategies among studies can introduce large variations in PFC concentration found, making direct comparisons challenging.     

Changes in maternal investment with climate moderate social behaviour in a facultatively social bee

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology - Scents play an important role in the life of most terrestrial mammals and may transmit valuable information about conspecifics. Olfaction was long considered...     

Planetary Stewardship in an Urbanizing World: Beyond City Limits

Cities are rapidly increasing in importance as a major factor shaping the Earth system, and therefore, must take corresponding responsibility. With currently over half the world’s population, cities are supported by resources originating from primarily rural regions often located around the world far distant from the urban loci of use. The sustainability of a city can no longer be considered in isolation from the sustainability of human and natural resources it uses from proximal or distant regions, or the combined resource use and impacts of cities globally. The world’s multiple and complex environmental and social challenges require interconnected solutions and coordinated governance approaches to planetary stewardship. We suggest that a key component of planetary stewardship is a global system of cities that develop sustainable processes and policies in concert with its non-urban areas. The potential for cities to cooperate as a system and with rural connectivity could increase their capacity to effect change and foster stewardship at the planetary scale and also increase their resource security.     

Laboratory-scale measurement of trace gas fluxes from landfarm soils

Trace gas emissions from refinery and bioremediation landfarms were investigated in a mesocosm-scale simulator facility. Five simulators were constructed and integrated with a data acquisition system and trace gas analyzers, allowing automated real-time sampling and calculation of total hydrocarbon (THC), CO2, and water vapor fluxes. Experiments evaluating the influence of simulated cultivation and rainfall on trace gas fluxes from the soil surfaces were conducted. Results were compared with published field results. Results showed that cultivating dry or moderately wet soil resulted in brief enhancements of THC fluxes, up to a factor of 10, followed by a sharp decline. Cultivating dry soil did not enhance respiration. Cultivating wet soil did result in sustained elevated levels of respiration. Total hydrocarbon emissions were also briefly enhanced in wet soils, but to a lesser magnitude than in dry soil. Hydrocarbon fluxes from refinery landfarm soil were very low for the duration of the experiments. This lead to the conclusion that elevated THC fluxes would only be expected during waste application. An evaluation of the influence of simultaneous water vapor fluxes on other trace gas fluxes highlighted the importance in lab-scale experiments of correcting trace gas fluxes from soils. The results from this research can be used to guide management practices at landfarms and to provide data to aid in assessing the effect of landfarms.